Dispatches from our members.

Goal Setting Focus Plan

Monday, February 27, 2017

I have historically not been a strong advocate for Goal Setting. I mean I’ve set goals and worked towards them, but the official “setting of goals” thing... You know writing them down and all that. It always seemed like the goals I was hearing other people set were just pulled out of thin air. For example; Generate $100,000 of income this calendar year, or lose 30lbs by this time next year. They always just sounded hollow and not very thought out to me. My thinking was why not just live life better and do what you say you’re going to do... right?

I am at least humble enough to admit when I am wrong...

About three years ago I met Mark Divine a Navy SEAL and founder of SEALFIT, among his many other accolades. Knowing him and utilzing him as a mentor he has changed my life in so many ways, but the one that has affected me the most is the way he sets goals. In his book The Way of the Seal: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed he outlines a system called P.R.O.P. that helps you develop a clear course of action to work toward and accomplish your goal(s). P.R.O.P. stands for (Priorities, Realities, Options, and Path). The details go like this:

Priorities: First of all a good goal is something that is of high-value to you personally. Make a list of a half dozen really important things in your life and then pick the top three.

Realities: Be honest and clear with yourself about your current situation in life and how much influence it will have on your goals. How does your current situation help or hamper your ability to achieve those goals.

Options: After you’ve reviewed your prioritized goals and thought through your personal situation as it relates to them. Write out three things you can do achieve each of your goals. It’s okay to combine things from other goals as well here.

Path: Now that you have a few choices for a course of action, which one fits you the best right now? This becomes your path for developing a real plan to accomplish your chosen goal(s).

One of the big secrets is to literally write this stuff down. Make it public if you dare, do whatever helps drive you to complete your tasks that push you to the finish line on achieving your goals.

I have put together a worksheet, that you can download, based on an older model that Mark Divine sent me that I have tweaked over the years to suit how I work. I am sharing it with you now in hopes that it will help you focus in on your own set of personal goals and find lasting success.